College of Charleston 3, Davidson 1
CHARLESTON, S.C.- Senior Jeremy Gold netted the second hat trick of his career as his three goals paced the College of Charleston men’s soccer team to a victory over Davidson at Patriots Point, on Saturday night, 3-1.
Davidson (4-8-0, 0-3-0 SoCon) attempted three of their four first-half corner kicks in the first two minutes of action, which placed a significant amount of pressure on the defense of CofC (7-4-1, 2-0-0 SoCon)
“Davidson’s offensive attack the first ten minutes of the game tested our defense immediately,” said CofC associate head coach, Ralph Polson.
Gold scored his first goal in the 11th minute of action to give CofC the advantage over Davidson, 1-0.
“Jeremy’s (Gold) first goal set the offensive pace for our entire team the rest of the game,” said Polson. “We were able to push our offense forward and put pressure on their defense.”
In the first half, CofC attempted six shots and two corner kicks, while Davidson attempted two shots.
Gold scored his second goal of the match in the 66th minute to give CofC the two goal advantage. The goal was unassisted.
“Jeremy made another great individual play for his second goal,” said Polson. “He has led this team the entire season by scoring key goals in important moments. That second goal was critical for us at that time of the match.”
Gold’s third and final goal came off a free kick in the 69th minute to give CofC the lead, 3-0.
Overall this season, Gold has nine goals, three assists and 21 points. He leads the SoCon in goals scored and points.
David Satorio scored the lone goal for Davidson in the 72nd minute to make the score, 3-1, in favor of the College of Charleston.
In the entire match, CofC took 14 shots and attempted three corner kicks. Davidson attempted four shots and three corner kicks.
Junior Corbin Waller had one save in the match to gain his sixth win of the season.
“We’re happy to start the SoCon season undefeated and hope to continue our competitive play against Coastal on Tuesday,” said Polson.
Only four men, Vladimir Suite, Chad Carithers, Chris Braithwaite and Jeremy Gold have gained a hat trick in the storied history of College of Charleston men’s soccer in Division 1 play. Jeremy Gold is the only player who has achieved this distinction twice. His first hat trick took place on Sept. 2, 2005 against Western Michigan.
CofC has now won their first two SoCon matches this season. The Cougars have started 2-0 in the SoCon only twice, in 2004 and 1999.
The Cougars return to action on Tuesday, Oct. 3 against Coastal Carolina at Patriots Point. The match will begin at 6:00 p.m.
Appalachian State 3, Wofford 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- A three-goal first half was all visiting Appalachian State needed to claim a 3-0 victory over Wofford in men's soccer action Saturday night at Snyder Field in Spartanburg, S.C., in the Terriers' first home game in over a month. Wofford last played at home against then-No. 24 South Carolina August 28.
The Mountaineers put their first mark on the scoreboard at 34:21 when Corey Lugger sent a crossing pass from the right corner to Sean Sassano, who then fed the ball past the Terrier defense for the 1-0 lead. Just over two minutes later, at 36:43, Arie Muniz beat Wofford (2-8-1, 0-2 SoCon) goalkeeper Thomas Hunter III on a shot from just outside the penalty box.
Appalachian State (6-4, 1-1 SoCon) closed the night's scoring with a tally at 43:55 when Mark Wheldon's long serve went through the leaping outstretched hands of Hunter to Ramsey Ammar, who was standing near the far post and knocked it into the open net.
Neither team mounted any offense in the second half, but the Terriers held a 7-5 shot advantage.
Wofford will return to action when it continues Southern Conference play at 7 p.m. Tuesday at UNC Greensboro.
UNC Greensboro 3, Elon 1
GREENSBORO, NC ? UNC Greensboro rallied from an early 1-0 deficit to take sole possession of first place in the Southern Conference men’s soccer standings with a 3-1 win in front of a Homecoming crowd of 2,545 at UNCG Soccer Stadium.
With the win, UNCG is 18-2-2 all-time on Homecoming, outscoring the opposition 74-15. The Spartans (7-4-1, 2-0-1) have won three straight and are unbeaten in their last four, while the Phoenix (8-4-1, 2-1-0) lost their second straight and fell from the top of the SoCon standings.
Elon took an early 1-0 lead when Matt Bengston scored just 6:29 into the match. Kiki Willis hustled after a loose ball that was headed for the end line and sent it back across the field. Brett Paschall then fed the ball back into the box from the left wing, where a sliding Bengston got a foot on it for this first goal of the season.
UNCG responded to tie the game just before halftime and changed the momentum. Mike Richardson blasted a pass from the left corner and Hermann Trophy candidate Randi Patterson, well-covered by the Elon defense, dove to get a head on it for his eighth goal of the season. The two-time All-American’s tally made it a 1-1 game with just 4:20 to play before half.
The Spartans received an own goal just 1:22 into the second half to take the lead. Looking for Patterson again, Michael FitzGerald crossed the ball from the right wing and it bounced off of an Elon defender into the goal.
FitzGerald closed out the scoring at 73:06 with his fifth goal of the season. A back pass to the keeper was misplayed and FitzGerald took advantage, chipping it in from 13 yards out.
The crowd of 2,545 was the seventh-largest crowd to see a UNCG men’s soccer match since the Spartans built UNCG Soccer Stadium in 1991. It was the largest since 2004 when UNCG hosted North Carolina in front of 2,608.
The Spartans will host Wofford on Tuesday night at 7 pm.
Georgia Southern 1, Winthrop 1 (2OT)
STATESBORO, Ga. ? A late Georgia Southern goal in the 87th minute tied the game at 1-1, but the contest ended in familiar fashion with a double-overtime draw, and the men’s soccer team extended its undefeated streak to six games, Saturday, versus non-conference opponent Winthrop.
With just over three minutes remaining in regulation, senior Calvin Simon (Wilmington, N.C.) slipped a pass through the Winthrop defense toward a sprinting Jon Cox (Alpharetta, Ga.) who immediately shot a bullet on goal. Keeper Patrick Mitrovich was there to make the save, but Cox rebounded the loose ball, then quickly netted his fifth goal of the season, lifting GSU to a 1-1 tie.
Georgia Southern (5-2-3) and Winthrop (8-1-2) combined on a total 26 shots, with GSU leading 7-4 in shots on goal.
Most of regulation went scoreless until Daniel Revivo’s free kick in the 76th minute lifted Winthrop ahead of GSU. At 20 yards out, Georgia Southern committed a foul that set up the free kick. Revivo sent a shot on goal that changed direction off a GSU defender, but still had enough weight behind it to slip past keeper Adam Webb (Melbourne, Fla.). It was Revivo’s seventh season goal.
The Winthrop goal put the visitors up 1-0, and ended Webb’s consecutive minutes (385:57) of shutting out his opponents. But Webb’s presence in the net proved to be invaluable as he made four saves in 110 minutes of play.
The GSU defense had their hands full with Winthrop’s Saidi Isaac, who is among the national leaders in goals per game and points per game.
“They’re very fast up top,” said head coach Kennedy. “Number 13 (Isaac) caused us problems.”
Though the defensive line was repeatedly challenged, the Blue and White continued to put the pressure on their opponent, tallying eight shots in the second half.
Winthrop’s Mitrovich made seven saves on the day, helping extend his team’s undefeated streak to seven games.
The Eagles will next travel to the College of Charleston to open up a new month of play, and resume Southern Conference action. The game is slated for Oct. 5th, and begins at 6 p.m.